Overview

This valuable report on the fixed broadband sector in the Middle East provides information on trends and developments. The report provides key information, analysis and statistics on the fixed broadband sectors for the following countries: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Executive Summary

Fixed broadband deployment varied across the Middle East

The fixed broadband market in the Middle East is slowly beginning to gain traction in the more progressive markets; however on the whole, regional penetration remains low. ADSL has been a popular access method in many markets and we are now seeing countries such as the United Arab Emirates take great strides in fibre-optic deployment and penetration.

Mobile services have reached saturation in some markets (Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates) and it has become clear that future telecoms growth will revolve around broadband services. This has led many of the various governments and operators towards a renewed push to improve both mobile and fixed broadband infrastructure.

Progressive growth of fibre-optic deployment has been identified in markets which have a National Broadband policy in place and a supportive government which is willing to invest in fixed infrastructure (e.g. United Arab Emirates and Qatar). In addition, countries where the operators are also willing to make infrastructure investments in co-operation with the government; seem to be progressing faster and in a more co-operative manner.

The use of broadband services in Saudi Arabia, for example, is being partly driven by an increasing number of high tech projects which are strongly supported by the government; along with the government's own transition to digital technologies and e-government services.

This unique report provides a regional overview of the fixed broadband sector in the Middle East where many variances exist in the state of fixed broadband progress. The countries covered include Bahrain; Iran; Iraq; Israel; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Syria; Turkey; United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Included are key industry statistics; market analysis and fixed broadband subscriber data.